King Seeley Thermos Fat Albert lunchbox

The King Seeley Thermos Fat Albert lunchbox is a vintage lunchbox based on the children’s animated series ‘fat Albert and the Cosby Kids’.

Background

Fat Albert is the main character of the 1970s cartoon series ‘Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids’, created by Bill Cosby. The series featured the adventures of a gang of working class African American children in North Philadelphia, and was based on Cosby’s own childhood experiences.

The series first aired in 1972, and ran initially until 1973. Further seasons ran in 75-76, 79-81 and 84-85, resulting in 105 episodes and four specials in its 13-year history. It was praised for its educational content and depiction of social issues such as drugs and crime that were rarely dealt with in other children’s programming.

The King Seeley Thermos Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids lunchbox

There were two different Fat Albert lunchboxes created by King Seeley Thermos in 1973 – one metal and one plastic.

The metal box has an orange handle and rim, and graphics on the front, back and sides. The front of the box depicts some of the characters racing against each other in home-made go-karts, with the reverse showing the gang performing in their band (as they did in each episode).

The sides of the box include images of Fat Albert with a giant sandwich, Bill tying a boot to the end of Russell’s fishing line, Bill jumping over Russell, and other characters playing marbles.

The accompanying orange-and-red thermos flask featured an image of Albert, along with the show’s logo.

The second, plastic box featured the same graphics on both sides – a re-arranged version of the go-kart artwork from the metal box, with the characters in different positions. This box also came complete with the same flask as the metal box.

How much is a King Seeley Thermos Fat Albert lunchbox worth?

As with other collectible vintage lunchboxes, the metal box is far more sought after than the plastic box (although both are popular with collectors). Near-mint condition metal boxes complete with their thermos flasks have sold on auction sites such as eBay for up to $100, although prices for used examples range from around 425 to $75 depending on their condition.

Prices for the plastic box range from $10 - $20 depending on condition.